This is the first new selection and translation in seventy years from the massive writings of one of the most provocative of 19th century thinkers. Like most social theorists whose ideas have retained any grip at all on man's imagination, Charles Fourier (1772-1837) has often been pressed into service to suit the purposes of disparate social movements. The Nineteenth Century Fourier, for example, became a respectable and upright socialist through his disciples.

The Fourier of a Marxist anthology, on the other hand, was given credit for a devastating critique of bourgeois sexual fraud and mercantile hypocrisy, but what was most appreciated was Fourier's contribution to the thought of Marx and Engels. Finally, the Fourier of general histories of nineteenth century thought emerges as a genial man, memorable chiefly for his predictions of domesticated anti-lions and seas of lemonade.

This book concentrates on those aspects of his thought that are relevant to contemporary social theory. Fourier's thought begins with his doctrines of "absolute doubt" and "absolute deviation." "Absolute doubt" required Fourier to doubt civilization itself, "to doubt its necessity, its excellence, and its permanence." "Absolute deviation" required him to dismiss the doctrines, teachings, and moral codes of all previous thinkers and philosophers. Thus he was not a critic of his society, but rather a vehement enemy.

As an answer to his own critique, Fourier planned an extraordinary utopian society based in large part on his law of "passionate attraction," which was destined to "conduct the human race to opulence, sensual pleasures and global unity." It was to be made up of interacting phalanxes, perhaps 1600 people housed in one vast building, a phalanstery, where there would be a way of life immeasurably richer and freer than a repressive civilization had ever afforded any man.

While trial phalanxes were founded in both France and the United States, none of these communities, including Brook Farm, met the standards set by Fourier. But today, in societies of great affluence, Fourier's dream may take on new meaning among those dedicated to man's liberation and self-fulfillment.

Contents:
I. FIRST PROCLAMATIONS
"Universal Harmony"
"Letter to the High Judge"
"Indices and Methods Which Led to the Discovery"
II. COMMERCE, INDUSTRY, AND WORK IN CIVILIZATION
1 Critique of Commerce
Fourier and Commerce
The Rise of Commerce and the Birth of Political Economy
Critique of Economic Liberalism
The Vices of Commerce
A Sentimental Bankruptcy
2 Work and Industry in Civilization
"Industrial Anarchy"
Civilized Work Is Unproductive
"Unproductive Classes in Civilization"
The Bucolic Myth
The Right to Work Denied
3 Work, Anxiety, and Freedom
True Freedom and Work
Work and Compulsion
The Worker's Misfortunes
Misfortunes of the Working People
Loathsome Work: God's Curse
III. PHILOSOPHY, MORALITY, AND SEX IN CIVILIZATION
1 Civilized Philosophy
"Accusation of the Uncertain Sciences"
Critique of the Revolutionary Ideals
Politics and Poverty
Morality as Preached; Counter-Morality as Practiced
The Varieties of Civilized Education
2 Marriage and the Family System
"Amorous Anarchy"
The Degradation of Women in Civilization
The Perils of Married Life
Adultery Dissected: the Hierarchy of Cuckoldom
3 Civilization in Historical Perspective
The First Age of Humanity
The Phases of Civilization
Sexual Relations and Social Change
"Sixteen Recent Degenerations"
The Imminent Social Metamorphosis
IV. THE THEORY OF PASSIONATE ATTRACTION
1 Metaphysics and Theodicy
God and His Properties
The Divine Social Code
The Law of Attraction
2 The Anatomy of the Passions
Passion and Duty
Passionate Attraction
The Three Distributive Passions
The Classification of Personality Types
3 Group Psychology
The Study of Groups
The Passionate Series
V. THE IDEAL COMMUNITY
1 New Material Conditions
The Establishment of a Trial Phalanx
The Phalanstery
An Architectural Innovation: The Street-gallery
2 The Organization of Communal Life
The Phalanx at Dawn
Administrative Institutions and Practices
The Exchange
The Phalanx on Parade: Its 16 Tribes
3 Education and Cultural Life in Harmony
Education, Refinement, and Social Harmony
Education by Peer Group
The Encouragement of the Arts and the Sciences
4 Advanced Gastronomy
The Two Conditions: Good Food and Good Company
A Problem in Bi-compound Gastronomy: The Triumph of Tough Old Hens
VI. ATTRACTIVE WORK
1 General Conditions and Descriptions
The Seven Conditions and the Social Minimum
Work and the Distributive Passions
2 Harmony's Enterprises
Selecting the Series
The Subordination of Manufacturing
Agricultural Methods: Work and Conviviality
Work and Aesthetic Pleasure: The Role of Elegance
3 Work as Social and Personal Therapeutic
Rich and Poor in Harmony: The End of Class Antagonism
Work and the Destructive Passions: The Case of Nero
Vocational Training: The Little Peas
4 Work Problems in Harmony
Degrading Work: the Servant Problem Solved
Drudgery: Work Devoid of Attraction
The Little Hordes and Disgusting Work
Work, Love, and the Industrial Armies
VII. THE NEW AMOROUS WORLD
1 The Nature and Uses of Love in Harmony
Love: The Divine Passion
Polygamous Penchants Are Universal
The Sexual Minimum
The Decline of Egoism and Jealousy
The Rehabilitation of Sentimental Love
2 Studies in Psychopathology
The Analysis of Manias
The Repression of Manias: The Case of Madame Strogonoff
Manias and Character Formation
3 New Amorous Institutions
Education and Sexuality: The Chaste Vestals
Education and Sexuality: The Faithful Damsels
The Code of Amorous Nobility 367
The Triumph of Sentiment: Harmony's Angelic Couple
Confessors in Harmony: The Art of Matching Personalities
4 Scenes and Episodes From the New Amorous World
The Arrival of a Band of Knights Errant at Cnidos
A Session of the Court of Love
VIII. THE MATHEMATICAL POEM
The Harmony of the Four Movements
The Earth's Creations
"Epilogue on the Theory of Analogy"

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